LONDON: Men who are socially more dominant tend to arrive at a decision faster than their peers, a study has found. Hierarchies exist across all human and animal societies, organised by what behavioral scientists refer to as dominance.

Dominant individuals tend to climb higher up the hierarchy ladder of their particular society, earning priority access to resources.

Researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have carried out a large behavioural study on men to examine this question.
The study involving 240 male students showed a clear correlation between higher social dominance and faster decision-making outside of a social competition context.

The men were sorted into high or low dominance groups by a standard "dominance scoring" questionnaire that has been validated in many previous studies.

Decision-making speed was measured with five experiments ("tasks") testing the participants' memory, recognition, ability to distinguish emotions, route-learning, and responsiveness.

The first task involved discriminating between emotions seen on various pictures of faces. Then they moved onto a memory and recognition task, where they were asked to remember and recognize a series of faces.

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The third experiment had the participants work on learning and remembering a route, and the fourth, a control experiment, had the participants hit the spacebar on a keyboard as soon as they saw a grey square appear on a screen.

In this part of the study, neither group appeared to be faster than the other.

The scientists then carried out a fifth experiment to identify neural signals that might show differences in promptness to respond between high- and low- dominance participants.

From Warren Buffett To Steve Jobs, Business Leaders Who Hum A Different Tune Outside Of Wor...

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Sound Of Music

9 Apr, 2018

These business honchos are talented, both, in the boardroom and outside of it.

Blue And Beyond

9 Apr, 2018

Paul Allen
By day, the Microsoft co- founder talks endangered species, climate change and sustainable communities. By night, off comes the tie and on comes the guitar strap. Allen is the lead guitarist of blues-based rockers 'The Underthinkers', and has been rocking it with the guitar since he was 16. In 2013, he had a major label release, 'Everywhere at Once'. Allen is also the founder of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, which contains the world’s largest collection of memorabilia devoted to Jimi Hendrix, a musician he credits as his biggest inspiration.

Taking Notes

9 Apr, 2018

Steve Jobs
The late Apple CEO used to turn to music often. In fact, Jobs reportedly used to play Bob Dylan numbers during brainstorming sessions with Steve Wozniak as they sat in the backyard of his California home, envisioning the future of Apple. In an interview, Jobs had said that Dylan and The Beatles also influenced his business philosophy.

Musically Yours

9 Apr, 2018

Warren Buffett
One would think the billionaire investor holds his biggest, most expensive buys the closest. But for Buffett, it’s a ukulele that he calls his best investment. The Berkshire Hathaway chief bought the instrument to serenade a girl he liked while in college. While they didn’t end up together, the ukulele remained very much around. In fact, parties at Buffett’s house were incomplete without him playing a set. Finally, in 2015, he played the uke at a Texas fundraiser, autographed it and then auctioned it off for $25,000.

Music To His Ears

9 Apr, 2018

Steve Wozniak
The Apple cofounder’s love for rock music is legendary, having conceptualised the US Festival in 1983. Touted as the next big thing after Woodstock, Wozniak had booked some of the biggest artists of the day for it. But somehow, the festival just didn’t make a splash and was talked about more for the money it lost — around $20 million — rather than the music it made.
(Text: Viandra D'souza)

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To do this, the researchers measured brain signals with a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG).

The participants were asked to distinguish between happy and sad faces and then angry and neutral faces, while the EEG measured how their brains' electrical signal changed in relation to how fast or slow they performed each task.

This part of the study found that promptness to respond in high-dominance men than in low-dominance men was accompanied by a strikingly amplified brain signal around 240 milliseconds after seeing the faces.

In addition, when the researchers analyzed the EEG images of the high-dominance participants, they identified a higher activity in areas of the brain associated with emotion and behaviour, compared to low-dominance participants.

Etiquette One Has To Follow To Meet World Leaders

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The Etiquette Guide

25 Jul, 2018

Some etiquette while meeting world leaders can be quite strict, specific and even strange.
A guide to help you out...

President Of The US

25 Jul, 2018

- People who are seated should rise when the president enters the room.
- The president should be addressed as ‘President Trump’ or ‘Mr. President’.
- For a woman president, if the US ever has one, she will be addressed as ‘Madam President’
(Image: AP)

The Pope

25 Jul, 2018

- For the Papal audienence, casual but modest dress is accepted. Women should have shoulders covered particularly if the meeting is held indoors.
- Men are permitted to wear hats throughout the audience.
- The pope must be addressed as ‘Your Holiness’ in writing or in person.
(Image: AFP)

Saudi King

25 Jul, 2018

- No slouching or arms crossed.
- When you are standing, you can hold your hands clasped in front of you or you can put your hands behind your back.
- The only acceptable courtesy title of the King while writing him a letter is ‘The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ instead of His Majesty.
(Image: AP)

The Queen Of Britain

25 Jul, 2018

- Queen Elizabeth should be addressed as ‘Your Majesty’ upon presentation, and subsequently as ‘Ma’am.’
- Male members of royals should be greeted as ‘Your Royal Highness’ and subsequently ‘Sir,’ while women are to be first addressed as ‘Your Royal Highness’ then subsequently as ‘Ma’am’.
- Touching the Queen is generally frowned upon, but Michelle Obama warmly wrapped her arm around the monarch during a 2009 reception at Buckingham Palace.
(Image: AFP)

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The study suggests that high-dominant men respond faster in situations where a choice is needed, regardless of social context. This promptness in decision-making can act as a "biomarker" for social disposition.

"In the future, it will be important to find out whether even stronger brain signals are observed in particularly dominant individuals, such as CEOs," said Carmen Sandi, a professor at EPFL.

"It will also be relevant to understand whether these differences in promptness to respond and brain signals are also observed in women that differ in dominance and whether they are already present in children," said Sandi.

"Our findings may open a new research approach using EEG signatures as a measure for social dominance," he said.

Style Check: From Steve McQueen to Farhan Akhtar, Men Who Inspire CEOs

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Arjun Gadkari - Steve McQueen

26 Sep, 2017

When smartly turned out business heads to pick who they think possess the X factor.
Arjun Gadkari, President, Nilgai Foods
“For me, Steve McQueen had the greatest style. He always looked cool, no matter what the occasion. He looked effortlessly casual on a motorcycle in jeans and a tee, but when he got into a three-piece suit, he was sharper than James Bond. He defined the anti-hero look.”

Vito Dell’Erba - Edie Redmayne

26 Sep, 2017

Vito Dell’Erba, Fashion Creative Director, Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited
“Amitabh Bachchan, Waris Ahluwalia, Johnny Depp and young talent such as Eddie Redmayne and James McAvoy can carry off a suit with style and elegance.”

Giuseppe Aquila - Marcello Mastroianni

26 Sep, 2017

Giuseppe Aquila, CEO, Montegrappa
“When I think about a style icon, I tend to look back at the past. Being Italian, Marcello Mastroianni is the fi rst person that comes to my mind, but I also think of Sean Connery or Paul Newman. Today, there is a totally different sense of style and a person that I admire, even though his is not necessarily my style, is Pharrell Williams.”

Harkirat Singh - George Clooney

26 Sep, 2017

Harkirat Singh, MD Woodland Worldwide
“I think George Clooney has an impeccable sense of style. He never goes too loud and works around a fairly limited set of colours that he knows suits him.”

Anuj Swahney - Farhan Akhtar

26 Sep, 2017

Anuj Sawhney, Swiss Military World Wide MD
“Farhan Akhtar is somebody who is casual, chic and into his element. People can relate to him and he makes style effortless.”

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